Cultural Struggle in Sherman Alexie’s Indian Killer

Abstract

Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie is a thriller which deals with cultural estrangement and search for self identity. The novel depicts how the Native American people were deprived of justice. As a result of rage and seeking vengeance for his people’s violent history, a serial killer named ‘Indian Killer’ terrorizes Seattle, murdering and scalping the bodies of white men and leaves behind the bodies embellished with owl feathers. Due to the bloody scenario the whole city turns into a fearful state which had become racially brutal. John Smith, a Native American by birth, is the protagonist who is adopted and raised by a kind white couple and also is the prime suspect of the murders going around the city. John longs for his lost heritage and gradually struggles between the two cultures leading to his identity crisis. This paper deals with the issues of cultural imbalance in the Native American society.